


Of Bunnies and Princesses

by experimentative_writer



Series: With you holding my hand, I can shout a bigger dream [2]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: (I surely never do :)))) ), (I'm bad at dealing with feelings does it show? :))) ), (If I suffered you will suffer too), Age Play, Age Play Caregiver Kim Seungmin, Age Play Caregiver Yang Jeongin | I.N, Age Play Little Hwang Hyunjin, Age Play Little Seo Changbin, Age Regression/De-Aging, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Avoiding a situation is NOT a good coping mechanism, Conflict Resolution, Diapers, Everybody cries because I say so, He tries his best okay, Hurt/Comfort, Hyunjin Seungmin and Jeongin are a triple, Hyunjin and Changbin are also a couple, I'm sorry baby, Jeongin is one (1) angry boi, Lee Felix is The Best Boi™, M/M, Multi, Non-Sexual Age Play, Pacifier - Freeform, Polyamory, Probably one hundred and fifty eight references to "Streetlight", Swearing, There are too many emotions in his (not) tiny body okay, baby!changbin, babyspace, cameo of Wooyoung from Ateez :)), caregiver!jeongin, caregiver!seungmin, feelings are hard, he's just sensitive, hyunjin cries a lot, little!changbin, little!hyunjin, littlespace
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 08:36:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29523744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/experimentative_writer/pseuds/experimentative_writer
Summary: Little!Changbin and little!Hyunjin's adventures with Seungmin and Jeongin as their caregivers!This is the second part to my serie 'With you holding my hand, I can shout a bigger dream', though you don't need to read the first part for this one to make sense :) This is Hyunjin, Seungmin, Jeongin and Changbin's side story, which takes place in the same verse as the first part :)
Relationships: Hwang Hyunjin & Seo Changbin, Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin/Yang Jeongin | I.N
Series: With you holding my hand, I can shout a bigger dream [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1987186
Comments: 7
Kudos: 19





	Of Bunnies and Princesses

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all, I hope you're doing well :) 
> 
> Sorry for taking a while before updating (and I'm not even updating the first part sigh), but lots of things are going on right now so yeah 🤷 
> 
> As I said in the summary, you don't have to read the first part for this one to make sense! This is the side story of Hyunjin, Seungmin, Jeongin and Changbin, which takes place in the same verse as the first part. It might be weird that I started part 2 without even updating the first part, but it will make more sense that way if you read both. (The first chapter of part two takes place after the first chapter of part one, but part one isn't mentioned) 
> 
> Thank you as always to my lovely kitten for beta-reading me and bearing with me through the writing :') <3 (me? starting too many projects at once? absolutely)
> 
> English is not my first language, so excuse any mistakes that were made! You can point them out in the comment section and I will correct them :) 
> 
> If it helps: -> the rooms are : Felix/Chan/Changbin, Jeongin/Hyunjin/Seungmin and Jisung/Minho.  
> -> the relationships are: Chanlix, Minsung, InJinMin and Changjin (so, Hyunjin is with Jeongin, Seungmin and  
> Changbin)
> 
> Title is from 'Streetlight' by Changbin <3 <3 <3 <3 
> 
> Enjoy your reading <3

For the first time in what felt like forever, the boys had a day off; even if they weren’t in the rush of preparing a comeback (at least, not so soon, having done one not so long ago), the group continued working continuously and 3racha kept composing and producing new songs, so Changbin sure wouldn’t say no to a free day. He wasn’t overly stressed-out (yet) and he wanted to keep it that way, thank you very much. 

  
  


The members had been anticipating the day off for a moment, all of them making plans to get the most out of the small break; Minho, Jisung, Felix and Chan were going at Minho’s house for most of the day while Jeongin, Seungmin, Hyunjin and Changbin would spend the day relaxing at the dorm. Both Hyunjin and Changbin couldn’t help but feel excited as the day came closer, neither of them having spent some quality time with Jeongin and Seungmin in a while. 

  
  


The day before, all the boys pilled into the vans to get back home (except for Chan, who decided to stay back at the company to finish working on a track, and Felix, who stayed back too to make sure his boyfriend wouldn’t be coming back too late). Hyunjin was curled up in his seat, watching videos on his phone with Changbin while leaning his head on the older’s shoulder. A notification popped on Hyunjin’s phone, the younger swiping it before his boyfriend could see, but Changbin still did. 

“You didn’t tell me it was your anniversary with Minnie and Innie tomorrow.” Changbin frowned as he looked at his boyfriend, to which Hyunjin only shrugged. 

“It’s fine.” Hyunjin said with another shrug, eyes still locked on his phone screen, “we decided to spend it at home.” 

  
  


Hyunjin’s answer left Changbin even more confused; the dancer was known to be a romantic and an _immense_ lover of dates, even more on the day of their anniversary (even if they couldn’t do much in public), so the situation was improbable and quite a bit suspicious to Changbin’s eyes. 

The rapper looked at the seats in front of him, in which Jeongin and Seungmin conveniently sat. The two youngests were already looking at him and, when he questioned them with a look, they shrugged too. 

“Why aren’t you doing anything?” Changbin asked, still frowning as he pointedly looked between the three. “It’s your anniversary, you should go out on a date or something.” 

“It’s not like we _need_ to do something, we can have a date any day.” Hyunjin said, curling up closer to his oldest boyfriend, suspiciously avoiding the older’s gaze as he focused on the video on his phone. Changbin obviously welcomed the gesture, wrapping his arm a bit tighter around Hyunjin, but didn’t let go of the subject; it was far from how the younger usually thought, so there was obviously something. 

Changbin opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself as a realisation hit him. 

Oh.

  
  


He sighed before reaching a finger under Hyunjin’s chin, gently lifting it so he could look into the younger’s eyes. 

“Jinnie, is it because of what we had planned tomorrow?” The rapper asked softly and knew he was right when the younger dropped his gaze, hands uneasily playing with his phone. 

  
  


A sigh escaped Changbin, the rapper leaning forward to lightly peck Hyunjin’s forehead. The younger only curled up even _closer_ to his boyfriend (at this point, he was basically on his lap), hiding his face against his chest. 

  
  


Changbin wasn’t mad per se; they had been in the same situation countless times before, Hyunjin feeling trapped between wanting to spend time with his three boyfriends, spend time with Changbin alone and spend time with Seungmin and Jeongin alone, the dancer not wanting anyone to feel left out, especially Changbin. It had been (and was still) Hyunjin’s biggest insecurity relationship-wise, so much that it had taken a long time for the boy to finally confess to Changbin and ask him to be his boyfriend, not wanting to hurt the older without meaning to by making him feel left out or making him feel less important than the two others only because he wasn’t in a relationship with _them_. 

  
  


Of course, Changbin knew Hyunjin’s feelings for him were the same as the feelings the dancer had for Seungmin and Jeongin, and the rapper knew Hyunjin loved them all equally, so he never felt less important or less loved when Hyunjin would go out with his boyfriends without him; besides, Hyunjin would always try to make it even by going out alone with Changbin next. The rapper knew he was as important as Jeongin and Seungmin, but still understood his boyfriend’s insecurities, thus tried to reassure him as much as he could in situations like they were currently in. 

“Baby,” Changbin whispered and Hyunjin raised his eyes to look at him, his eyes starting to gloss with tears, “it is completely fine if you want to go out with them, you know? Even if we had planned something different, it _is_ your anniversary and I’m sure you’d love to go on a date.” The rapper smiled at his boyfriend, softly caressing one of his cheeks. 

“But.. it’s been a while since… you know?” Hyunjin mumbled, a blush rising on his cheeks as he quickly eyed their manager currently driving, continuing when he saw he wasn’t paying attention to their conversation. “You didn’t want to..?” 

“Of course I want to.” Changbin affirmed, before going on. “But I think your date is more important, at least, for you, and that is completely fine.” He added when he saw Hyunjin’s frown, the boy ready to protest but stopping himself at his boyfriend’s words. 

  
  


A short silence installed itself between the four boys, the two youngests deep in thoughts as they considered Changbin’s words; neither wanted to cancel what they had planned with the older, but they also both would have liked to have a special time with Hyunjin for their anniversary. 

“We could come back early, that way we could do both? The others said they won’t be back until late, so we’d have time.” Seungmin proposed, to which Jeongin frowned. 

“But they won’t have all day like we planned and you know as well as me that they need it.” The youngest said, his tone clearly showing he was irritated with Seungmin’s easy answer. 

“Innie.” Changbin called softly, making the maknae lock eyes with him. “I’m fine, and Jinnie will already de-stress in a way by going out with both of you, right?” He looked at Hyunjin, the younger sighing a ‘yeah’ after a moment; going out _did_ relax the dancer, date or not. Changbin looked back at Jeongin, the youngest still looking at him with doubt written on his features. “I don’t need it that much, really. And, like Minnie said, we could still do it when you get back.” 

  
  


Jeongin looked at the rapper for a moment, trying to read if he was lying. The maknae really hated the thought of leaving him alone, even if it was for a few hours, even if the older said he was fine and that they could still do as planned later; he knew the older (and Hyunjin, obviously) had been excited to spend all day with them, alone in the dorm for the entire day, and Jeongin really wanted to make sure Changbin was honest. That particular part of their relationship was important and required a lot of trust, so Jeongin wanted to be more than sure about his decision, seeing as both his boyfriends were looking at him and waiting for his answer. 

  
  


Sighing once more when he realised Changbin _was_ being truthful, Jeongin finally nodded, both Hyunjin and Seungmin smiling. 

“Alright.” Jeongin started, looking at Changbin. “If you change your mind tomorrow morning, hyung, I want you to tell me. Please.” There was a certain plea in his tone, making Changbin smile at him warmly as he nodded. 

“I will, don’t worry.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


The next day, as the trio was preparing to leave, Jeongin went to find Changbin in his room, worry clear on his face. 

“Hyung, are you sure you’re fine with us leaving?” The maknae asked with a slight frown, standing next to Changbin’s bed on which the older was laying on, watching videos on his phone. “I really don’t mind staying home if you need me to.” 

“I’m fine, Innie.” The older said as he rolled his eyes, though he smiled warmly at the younger. “I would have told you if I wasn’t. Besides,” he turned back to his phone, tapping something on the screen, “I texted Wooyoung and he’s free too, so we’re going to hang out.”

“Oh, it’s been a while since you’ve seen each other, right?” Jeongin asked and Changbin hummed in approval, a smile on his lips. 

  
  


Wooyoung had been Changbin’s best friend since highschool and, when they both debuted at a few months' interval, in different companies to make things worse, it had started to be difficult to find time to see each other. They still texted and called, but they didn’t have much time to hang out anymore. 

  
  


“Well, tell him I said hi.” Jeongin said, to which Changbin hummed once again. 

  
  
  


Jeongin decided to wait for the two others in Changbin’s company, eventually pulling out his phone and laying next to the older while he waited. A few minutes later, Hyunjin came into the room, tugging Seungmin behind him. 

“We’re ready!” The dancer exclaimed excitedly, skipping until he reached the bed and leaning over Jeongin to kiss Changbin. 

“And I don’t get one?” Jeongin raised an eyebrow in mock shock when Hyunjin pulled away without kissing him. Though, before the latter could intervene, Changbin threw a leg and an arm over Jeongin and exaggeratedly pursed his lips, trying to kiss the youngest while Jeongin tried to pull away with a disgusted face. 

“Innie wants a kiss? Come here, hyung will give you one.” 

“GET OFF!” Jeongin winced, finally breaking free from Changbin’s grasp after a few (too long) seconds. The older playfully (but still firmly) punched his shoulder, mock pouting at the maknae, but Jeongin ignored him without a second thought. 

  
  


Just as they were done saying their goodbyes and were leaving the room, the maknae turned in Changbin’s direction one last time. 

“Text me if you need me.” Jeongin stated seriously, Changbin nodding at his words. 

“I will, don’t worry. Have fun.” The rapper said with a smile and Jeongin nodded. 

“You too, hyung. I’ll text you on the way back.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Less than an hour later, a knock was heard at the door. Changbin opened it to find Wooyoung standing on the other side; they had decided to hang out at Stray Kids’ dorm since all the others were gone. Both smiling widely at the sight of the other, Changbin tugged his friend inside and wrapped his arms around his neck as soon as he closed the door, Wooyoung reciprocating the gesture happily. 

“I missed you a lot.” Changbin mumbled, face buried in Wooyoung’s neck, making the other laugh fondly. 

“Yeah, I missed you too.” Wooyoung said with a smile, gently caressing the other’s hair before pulling away. 

  
  
  


They both settled in the living room, talking about everything and anything that came to their mind easily. They quickly fell into their usual dynamic as if they hadn’t spent weeks apart, a comfortable atmosphere surrounding them as it usually did when they met, especially when they were alone. 

  
  


Both boys were close, more so than most were aware of; having been best friends since high school, they had gone through _a lot_ together, had been the other’s first in many spheres and had seen the other in various vulnerable moments. They knew things about the other not many knew about, if any knew about it _at all_. Every moment spent together brought them closer, thus, it wasn’t so surprising to see them as open as they were with each other. 

  
  
  
  
  


After a moment of conversation, Wooyoung gasped as he remembered something, getting up from the couch to get his bag and bring it back to the living room. Changbin eyed him with a small smile, his curiosity getting even bigger when he noticed a light blush on his friend’s cheeks. 

“I went to my mom’s last week and went through some boxes I had from high school.” Wooyoung explained, opening his backpack to take out a plastic bag, though it was opaque so Changbin couldn’t see what was in it. “I found some of your stuff, thought you’d probably want it back.” He said with a smile, extending the bag in Changbin’s direction. 

  
  


Frowning, the rapper took the offered bag; he had absolutely no idea what could be inside, not remembering having left anything at Wooyoung’s. Changbin opened it and peeked inside, a quiet gasp leaving him when he saw what was in the bag, before he closed it, a blush on his cheeks. 

“I didn’t know if you still needed them since I know you got new ones, but I thought it was better giving them back to you so it could have a chance to be useful again.” Wooyoung offered with a shrug, smiling softly. “Though, I’m sure the clothes won’t fit anymore.” The other laughed, making Changbin snort; he didn’t need to look at them to know it wouldn’t fit, having pulled much more musculature since high school. 

  
  


Changbin looked at the bag in his hands, a shaky sigh leaving him; he hadn’t thought about _that_ in a while and seeing his stuff really made that hitch crawl back under his skin, a desire he had been ignoring for a while nudging back into his mind even more powerfully than before. Shaking his head, Changbin extended the bag back to Wooyoung, his friend eyeing him confusedly. 

“Thanks, but… I won’t need it anymore. You can do whatever you want with it.” The rapper mumbled, only deepening Wooyoung confusion. 

“What do you mean?” Wooyoung asked with a frown as he took the bag. “You said you still-”

“I do.” Changbin interrupted him, wrapping his arms around his middle and leaning back into the couch. “I just… don’t do it like _this_ anymore.” 

  
  


Wooyoung could only frowned as he looked at Changbin, the latter biting his bottom lip as he averted his friend’s gaze. 

“You haven’t told them, have you?” Wooyoung asked softly after a moment, Changbin shaking his head in answer. 

“I can’t tell them, Young.” Changbin stated, his voice barely above a whisper. 

“Why? They’ve been pretty accepting so far, no?” The other said, sitting closer to Changbin but far enough so he wasn’t touching him. 

“I-I can’t, it’s…” Changbin stammered, both hands raising to tug at his hair as he curled on himself, the nudging in his mind growing stronger the more he thought about it. “I-I can’t, J-Jinnie..-” A sob escaped the rapper, his body starting to shake as tears now fell down his cheeks freely. 

  
  


Wrapping his hands around Changbin’s wrists, Wooyoung gently tugged on them until Changbin let go of the hurtful grip on his hair. The former rested both hands on the rapper’s shoulders and, when he didn’t pull away, circled his waist with his arms and pulled him to his chest, hugging him tightly. Changbin breathed deeply, letting the feeling of his friend’s arms around him and the feeling of his chest against his ground him. 

  
  


The voice in his head grew stronger, bigger, taunting him to give in. He wanted to keep fighting but, at the same time, wouldn’t it be fine if he did it with Wooyoung? The rapper wasn’t sure if the other would mind and he couldn’t ask, he couldn’t do it. 

  
  


As if reading his mind, Wooyoung softly gripped Changbin’s chin between two fingers, raising his gaze so they could look at each other. 

“Binnie?” Changbin whimpered at the nickname, closing his eyes momentarily to ground himself. “Do you want me to take care of you?” 

  
  


Taking a few deep breaths, Changbin thought about the proposition, weighting the pros and the cons. He didn’t want to make it a recurring thing, but he really _craved_ that particular feeling Wooyoung could provide him. He didn’t want his boyfriend of Jeongin and Seungmin to find out, but maybe they could make it quick?

  
  


“Y-yes…” Changbin finally exhaled, Wooyoung nodding in understanding with a warm smile before tugging the other on his lap, the rapper all but going lax in his hold. 

“Alright.” The other whispered back, gently kissing Changbin’s forehead. “I’ll take care of you, baby.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


It wasn’t that Jeongin expected Changbin to answer his text message seconds after he sent it, but after 45 minutes and four other messages, he did begin to wonder why the older wasn’t responding. 

  
  


“He probably only turned off his sound.” Hyunjin tried for the third time since he noticed his boyfriend beginning to worry, earning another sigh from Jeongin. 

  
  


As soon as their date was over, Jeongin had made sure to text Changbin that they were on the way back, updating the older once the manager came to pick them up from the small coffee shop they had ended at. Knowing the rapper had said he would hang out with Wooyoung in the meantime and receiving no answer back to the message he sent, Jeongin guessed the older was either still with his friend or taking a nap, so the situation didn’t really affect him. 

  
  


When he texted him four more times and _still_ didn’t get an answer, though, he couldn’t help but think there was something wrong. 

  
  


“He never does.” Jeongin retorqued as he refreshed his messages for probably the thirtieth time in the last minute, yet another sigh leaving his lips as he looked up from his phone to look through the window to see where they were and trying to estimate the time it would take until they reached the dorm. “You know he always leaves his sound on, even more if he’s alone at home.” 

  
  


Hyunjin sighed silently as he leaned back against Seungmin, a feeling of helplessness washing over him as he watched his younger boyfriend be so concerned yet having no way to appease him. Seungmin wrapped his arm tighter around the oldest’s shoulder, patting it empathically and smiling at Hyunjin softly when the other looked up at him. 

  
  
  


The rest of the ride went quietly, the trio discussing quietly (though, Jeongin mostly looked at his phone and didn’t participate much in the conversation, being too preoccupied, but still) as they traveled the last miles home. 

  
  
  


When the van stopped in their parking, Jeongin all but bolted outside after muttering a quick ‘thank you’ to their manager, who only shaked his head at his behavior (he was used to _much_ much worse from the boys anyway). Seungmin and Hyunjin did thank their manager properly before following their boyfriend, the boy almost running to the elevator and pushing the button frantically as if it would arrive faster. Neither of the others said anything, Seungmin rolling his eyes in exasperation but keeping his comments for himself; he knew how the maknae was and he really didn’t want to pick a fight pointlessly. 

  
  


“Please don’t shout his name as soon as you open the door. Or anything, for that matter.” Seungmin said to his younger boyfriend pointedly, but not unkindly, once they were in the elevator, the youngest almost vibrating in place as he watched the floor numbers go up. Jeongin crossed his arms, clenching his teeth as he stayed his back to the other; he knew Seungmin wasn’t as worried as him, but some consideration would have been nice. Seungmin, once again, didn’t comment on his boyfriend’s behavior and continued. “He’s surely taking a nap right now and your screaming isn’t that nice of a sound to wake up to.” 

  
  


Jeongin only hummed back noncommittally in answer, hurrying past the doors as soon as they opened, the two others following him in a less hurried pace. Once in front of their dorm’s door, the maknae quickly typed in the code and opened the door, all but throwing his shoes off before darting in; as much as he would have liked to shout Changbin’s name to locate him and appease his worry faster (and as much as it hurt to say Seungmin _might_ be right), Jeongin knew there was a possibility the older was asleep and that he surely wouldn’t like being woken up by screams, so he opted for the _longer option_ and look for him. 

  
  
  


Although, his searches didn’t take long, considering he found Changbin right on the couch in the living room, sitting on Wooyoung’s thighs, the other’s face buried in Changbin’s neck as Wooyoung kissed down his skin while holding onto the rapper’s waist, both arms securing their bodies as close as they could be. 

  
  


Jeongin could only stand there in shock, barely registering his two boyfriends arriving by his side and having the same reaction. 

  
  


What was even worse was that neither of the two on the couch seemed to notice them, both too absorbed in one another to pay attention to their surroundings and noticing the three boys that had just came in. 

  
  
  


_What was happening?!_

  
  
  


“Hyung?” Seungmin finally broke the heavy silence that had settled between the three boyfriends, gaining the two others’ attention; Wooyoung stopped tickling Changbin, pulling away far enough to look at the three others with a mix of emotions, while Changbin’s soft giggles stopped abruptly, the older quickly turning in their direction, eyes filled with fear. 

  
  


Time seemed to freeze as they all stared at each other, no one knowing what to say or what to do. 

  
  


Changbin was the first to move; finally registering the situation, he quickly pulled away from Wooyoung, taking his pacifier out and tugging on Wooyoung’s oversized hoodie he was currently wearing to try to hide the diaper he had on (not that it really mattered, since everyone had already seen it, but Changbin did like to preserve some modesty, thank you very much). He opened his mouth to speak, but no words were coming out, his breath picking up as he tried to come up with an explanation but his brain supplying none. 

  
  


“I-...” Changbin started, looking between the three boys and trying to read their expressions; Seungmin seemed lost, a light frown on his face as he looked between Wooyoung and Changbin, Hyunjin looked surprised but empathetic, a small smile on his lips as he looked at his boyfriend, and Jeongin…

  
  


Well, Jeongin looked _pissed_. 

  
  


The youngest was looking at Changbin, and _only_ Changbin, with such a bitter and furious expression that it caught Changbin off guard; Jeongin’s piercing glare was dead set on the rapper, jaw clamped shut so hard veins began bulging out of his neck and fists clenched up thighly by his sides. He was breathing heavily, attracting Hyunjin’s worried attention to him. 

“I can explain.” Changbin finally said and maybe it wasn’t the best he could have done, but it was the best he could do at the moment. “I-..”

  
  


Before he could even add another word, Jeongin angrily stormed off of the room, going to his own and slamming the door shut, surprising everyone. Changbin could only look in the direction the maknae went, his chest constricting as tears gathered in his eyes; he _knew_ this was how things would turn out once the others discovered that part of him, but the reality hurt _so much._

  
  


“Hyung…” Seungmin started, but Changbin didn’t need to hear more, didn’t _want_ to; wiping the tears away harshly, the rapper shook his head. 

“Don’t.” He said sternly, going, too, to his room and closing the door behind him, though somewhat softer than the youngest. 

  
  


As he walked to his bed, Changbin caught a reflection of himself in the mirror and suddenly couldn’t support what he was wearing anymore; he all but tore the garments off his body, hiding the diaper _far_ under his bed and hiding it behind multiple bags, and redressed himself with his previous outfit of the day. _The one he wore before…_ Once he was done, fighting off the tears of frustration and hurt menacing to roll down his cheeks _,_ Changbin laid in his bed, burying himself under the covers in hope the world would just forget about him. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


Back in the living room, Hyunjin and Seungmin were still silently standing where they were, both trying to process the situation; a lot had happened, Changbin and Jeongin were both in their room, most likely not wanting to address anybody for a while, and neither Hyunjin nor Seungmin knew what to do. 

  
  


“I’ll go check on Changbin.” Wooyoung announced after a while, standing up from the couch and going to the rapper’s room, though he also knew the other probably wouldn’t respond. 

  
  


When the other left the room, Hyunjin sighed deeply, Seungmin turning in his direction and seeing tears gathered in his eyes. 

“Oh, Jinnie…” Seungmin whispered, gently tugging his now fully crying boyfriend in his arms, rubbing his back as sobs shook his body; as much as they teased him for being a drama queen, they all knew the dancer was sensitive, even more so when a situation implied a fight between members. Having two of his boyfriends’ fight was sure to upset the boy quite a lot _,_ adding the discovery they made about Changbin just made things more fragile. 

  
  


In fact, Jeongin, Seungmin and Hyunjin all knew of Changbin’s regressing; a few months after debuting, Changbin had came out to Hyunjin while cuddling in their hotel room and the younger had been more than thrilled about that fact since he, too, regressed. They had talked far into the night about the subject, Hyunjin describing that he had begun regressing in Seungmin and Jeongin’s presence after learning about it, about a few weeks after debuting, and Changbin explaining he had begun regressing while in highschool with a friend. When the rapper had stated he hadn’t had a caregiver since highschool, Hyunjin had frowned and had asked if he had regressed since then and Changbin had nodded, explaining that his headspace was around 6-7 years old, so he could take care of himself pretty well. Nodding in comprehension, Hyunjin had told Changbin his headspace was more around 3 to 5 years old, meaning it was usually for the best if he wasn’t left alone. 

  
  


As they had continued talking about their headspaces, Hyunjin had asked if Changbin would be comfortable enough to come out to Seungmin and Jeongin, the two being his own caregivers and fully supporting him. Changbin had thought about it for a second before nodding; if they were accepting of Hyunjin, they would surely be accepting of him too. The younger had then asked, the prettiest blush on his cheeks, if he would want to regress with him one day and, once again, Changbin nodded, a soft smile on his lips. Hyunjin all but squealed in joy, flinging himself on top of the older and rambling about how fun it would be to regress together and how he couldn’t wait to do it. 

  
  


A few days later, Changbin had decided to come out to Seungmin and Jeongin and, as expected, they were both fully supportive of him. They had asked similar questions as Hyunjin, both frowning when the rapper said he didn’t have a caregiver. 

“Well, now you do, hyung.” Jeongin had affirmed with a serious look and Seungmin had nodded along with the youngest’s words. 

  
  


Then had started their journey as a quatuor, two littles and two caregivers becoming closer to each other day after day. Managing to find time for the littles to regress wasn’t always easy, but they went through everything together, eventually relationships forming a few weeks after; Hyunjin, Jeongin and Seungmin first, then, a few months later, Hyunjin and Changbin.

As time passed, Jeongin had found himself growing closer to Changbin, in like out of headspace; he had always respected the older much, finding in him a model on which he could count on since their beginning. It was no surprise that Changbin loved all his dongsaengs (and hyungs, of course) immensely, but Jeongin did have a special place in his heart, the both of them having much in common and having a great relationship. Thus, it was also no surprise that Jeongin, just like when Changbin was out of headspace, grew close to little Changbin, slowly becoming more and more his main caregiver. Neither Hyunjin nor Seungmin complained, both more than happy for the two of them to have found each other in many different ways. 

  
  


It _really wasn’t a surprise_ , then, that they had seen Changbin regressed. 

  
  


What had surprised them was 1) seeing him regressed with someone else and 2) seeing him in what they assumed was baby space. 

  
  


The first point wasn’t _that_ shocking, since Changbin _did_ mention that he used to regress with a friend back in high school; they obviously weren’t expecting to find him regressed with Wooyoung, but it wasn’t that _too far_ stretched, the triple knowing how close the two were. 

  
  


What was the _most_ surprising was that Changbin apparently regressed to _baby space._ And the older had _never_ mentioned that in almost two years, even though it seemed like he had age appropriate stuff, meaning he did it often enough that he needed to own baby things. Jeongin had even questioned him once to know if ever wanted to try to go younger while in headspace and he had said _“no”_ and that he was “ _fine how things already were_ ”. 

  
  


_Why had he hid it?_

  
  


Trust and communication seemed to be the base of their relation, while judgment clearly wasn’t a part of it. Changbin wasn’t usually uncomfortable talking about his headspace, the man being confident enough to accept himself how he was without caring about others’ opinion. 

  
  


_So why had he hit it?_

  
  


_And why would Jeongin react so badly?_

  
  


Many questions were unanswered, and Seungmin and Hyunjin knew they would have to talk to both men but, for now, maybe it was best to let the dust settle. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Wooyoung knocked on Changbin’s door, waiting for the other to reply. When he got none, he sighed before repeating the action. 

“Binnie, it’s me.” He said softly, pausing to see if a reply would come. Again, none did. The dancer sighed again, knowing Changbin wouldn’t talk to him right now and knowing it was best _not_ to go into the room without the older’s permission when he was upset. As much as he wanted to talk to Changbin and make sure he was alright (and as guilty as he felt, considering it was mostly his fault), Wooyoung knew it was better to give the rapper space and wait for him to reach out once he was ready. “I’m sorry, Changbin. I shouldn’t have insisted.” Wooyoung sighed once more, hoping to get an answer, but he didn’t. “Please take care of yourself and text me when you’re ready.” The dancer paused one last time before turning away, leaving the rapper alone. 

  
  


From his bed, Changbin could hear Wooyoung’s voice, but he couldn’t bear the thought of having the younger see him at the moment, tears rolling down his cheeks in a steady flow, the sight so uncharacteristic of how he usually was, how he wanted the others to see him. He listened to his friend’s voice until he left, the tightness in Changbin’s chest growing even more as culpability of making his best friend feel guilty of something that wasn’t his fault added to the mix of emotions he felt. 

  
  
  
  
  


Wooyoung walked back to the living room to grab his bag and leave, finding Seungmin and Hyunjin cuddling as the older of the two cried. When they both heard him enter the room, they parted slightly and Hyunjin dried his tears. Seeing them like this only fueled the guilt in Wooyoung’s chest, the dancer bowing in their direction. 

“I am really sorry about all of this. It was my fault since I was the one to propose Changbin to do it, so I am very sorry for causing all this.” He said, both Seungmin and Hyunjin gasping lightly as he did, shaking their heads and wagging their hands in the air. 

“N-No, please don’t apologise!” Hyunjin quickly said, Wooyoung slowly raising back up. “It’s not your fault at all!” 

“We should be the one apologising for our reaction.” Seungmin said, bowing slightly and Hyunjin copying him. “We should have had a more adequate reaction, we’re really sorry about upsetting you and hyung.” 

“It’s fine,” Wooyoung smiled softly, “Changbin told me you didn’t know, so it wasn’t your fault. Just…”, he paused, grabbing his bag and slinging it on his shoulder and moving towards the front door, “talk to him when he’s ready? He will need it.” 

“Of course.” Hyunjin stated, Seungmin nodding his approval too. “Get home safe.” 

“I will.” Wooyoung smiled at the boys before slipping up his shoes and exiting the dorm, leaving behind him a heavy silence. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Changbin didn’t move from his room for the rest of the day, napping most of the time. He didn’t hear from the others either, which he tried to convince himself was _fine_ ; for the time being, taking some distance might be for the best. 

  
  


It wasn’t until late that someone came into the room, Changbin sighing and pushing his blanket over his head, turning his back to the door. Soft giggles filled the room before someone hushed them, Changbin recognizing Chan’s voice when the older whispered “ _he might be sleeping”._ Another sigh left Changbin; as much as he didn’t feel ready to face the others, he still had hoped it’d be one of them. 

“Hyung?” Felix’s voice called and Changbin knew it was directed at him, both Australians having heard him sigh. 

  
  


Slowly, though he still kept his back to the others, he pulled the blanket off his head. 

“Hm?” Changbin answered after a moment, not actually wanting to talk to someone but not wanting to upset or worry the younger either by not answering him. Unbeknownst to him, Chan and Felix shared a worried look, both quickly catching on the other’s sour mood (the fact that he wasn’t in Hyunjin, Seungmin and Jeongin’s room also hinted that something was wrong, the rapper rarely in their room except for when Hyunjin would join him). 

  
  


“Are you alright?” Felix asked and Changbin had to suppress an annoyed sigh; he reminded himself that he wasn’t mad at Felix, but he was mad at himself for his foolishness and hurting those he loved by lying to them. Changbin took a deep breath before answering; there was really no point in denying it since they had already realised something was wrong. 

“Not really.” He mumbled weakly in reply, fighting back the traitorous tears willing to come back. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” The younger Australian question, to which Changbin shook his head. 

“Not really.” The rapper repeated, Felix humming in understanding. 

“...Do you want a hug?” The dancer asked in a small voice after a few seconds and Changbin thought about it for a few seconds more before nodding lightly. 

“...Yeah.” He replied in a shaky voice before he heard shuffling in the room. 

  
  


The bed dipped under the weight of an added person, Changbin recognizing Felix’s arm when the younger circled his waist and pushed himself close to the rapper’s back. Holding back a whine at the much appreciated affection, Changbin turned around, instead facing the younger and bringing him flush to his chest, sighing unsteadily against Felix’s locks. They both hugged the other close, Felix’s hands soothingly rubbing up and down Changbin’s back. 

  
  


Chan sat at the edge of the bed, one hand taking hold of one of Changbin’s, thumb rubbing against the back of the younger’s hand; the leader had known Changbin for a while and he hadn’t seen the other as distressed as he seemed to be in a long time. The oldest didn’t want to pry too much, since Changbin had said he didn’t want to talk about it, but he couldn’t help but think about what could have possibly upset the rapper so much. 

  
  


“When did you last eat?” Chan asked after a few silent minutes, Changbin shrugging his shoulders in answer. “I’ll make you something.” The leader said as he stood up, his tone leaving no place to argue; Changbin wasn’t particularly hungry, but he knew better than to oppose the older when he had this tone. 

  
  


Once Chan left the room, Changbin and Felix were left alone in silence, though it wasn’t an uncomfortable one. Changbin loved that about the younger; they didn’t have to try and make conversation to be at ease with the other, just being together was enough. As he held Felix, Changbin realised it had been a while since he had a proper cuddle session with the Australian, both having been super close before and after debuting, spending nights and nights talking about their worries and insecurities in all honesty, knowing the other would understand and wouldn’t judge. As time passed, they had both gotten in relationships and the group gained in popularity, meaning they didn’t have as much time for the other as in the past. One thing was sure, even without mentioning it; they would always be there for the other. 

  
  


Changbin sighed, closing his eyes as he buried his face in Felix’s hair. 

“I fucked up, Lix.” Changbin said, voice barely above a whisper, a shaky exhale accompanying his words. The younger only tightened his hold against him, rubbing his back in deep motions. 

“You’ll figure things out, hyung. You always do.” Felix whispered and it was Changbin’s turn to tighten his arms around the younger, the rapper closing his eyes to fight the tears away once more. 

“I really hope so.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Changbin avoided the others as best as he could, getting up way earlier than usual to go to the gym, hoping he wouldn’t cross paths with anyone; working out had always been one of Changbin’s ways to deal with stress and hurtful emotions, so hopefully it would help since he really needed it at the moment. Thankfully, today was mostly individual schedules, 3Racha having a writing session later that day, so Changbin was sure he could avoid the others as much as possible. 

  
  


However, fate seemed to be against him _yet again_ since, as soon as he stepped into the kitchen, Changbin came face to face with Jeongin, preparing himself to go to school. They both stared at each other for a second before Jeongin went past the older, grabbing his things and exiting the dorm quickly, the same angry expression as the day before on his face. Changbin sighed, grabbing a water bottle before going to the gym. 

  
  
  


Thankfully, working out _did_ help ease the tensions in Changbin’s body, the rapper deciding to take a shower at the gym to help relax himself furthermore and lessen his chances of running into the others back at the dorm. A soothing twenty minutes under the hot water later, Changbin went to the company, settling himself in a solo studio to practice some songs before opening his laptop and working on some tracks. 

  
  


3Racha’s writing session went well, Chan not mentioning a word from the previous’ day situation but still keeping an eye on Changbin. Jisung didn’t seem to have been made aware of the situation, which was probably for the best since the boy wouldn’t have been able to keep quiet about it. Once they finished and Chan told the boys they could go back home while he stayed back at the company a bit more (as usual), Changbin looked at the time on his phone and saw it was barely past 7PM. 

  
  


“Hyung, can I stay here a bit longer?” Changbin asked as Jisung started picking his things up, the leader looking at him with a suspicious look. “I have this song I started writing earlier and I really want to continue working on it while I still have the inspiration.” Changbin explained quickly, the statement both a lie and the truth; he did start working on a new song earlier, but he could always work on it later. 

  
  


Chan eyed him for a few seconds, analysing his words, before nodding, Changbin holding back a relieved sigh. The leader then turned to the youngest, Jisung currently looking around the studio for his earphones that were sitting next to Chan, the older extending them in his direction. 

“Do you want me to call someone to take you home, Sungie?” Chan asked when Jisung thanked him for his earphones, looking at the youngest with slight worry in his eyes; he knew just how much he hated walking home alone, even more at this late hour. 

“No, it’s fine, hyung.” Jisung smiled, pointing at his phone. “I texted Minho hyung and he’s still at the company practicing, so I’ll walk back with him.” Chan nodded at the information, smiling back at the youngest. 

“Alright, get home safely and text me when you’re home.” The leader said, to which Jisung nodded with exaggeration. 

“Of course, dad.” He replied as he made his way to the studio’s door, Chan shaking his head with a fond smile at the boy’s silly behavior. “See you home! And don’t work too hard, you’ll fry your brain by staying so much in front of that computer.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Chan laughed, watching the other leave the studio and close the door behind him. 

  
  


The two composers went back to work, both silently working in each other’s company. Changbin was glad for the distraction, his work distracting him from the whole situation with Seungmin, Hyunjin and Jeongin. He knew he couldn’t avoid it forever, but he needed a few more days before facing them. 

  
  
  
  
  


The next few days were a repetition of the previous one, Changbin waking up early to go to the gym, working out, going to the company and only coming back home late, when most of the other members were asleep. He did cross paths with Jeongin every morning, but the other refused to talk to him, let alone look in his direction, the atmosphere heavy during the few seconds they were in the same room. Twice, Changbin also encountered Seungmin and Hyunjin, but he had turned away quickly, avoiding them as best as he could. 

The rapper also texted Wooyoung a couple of days later, informing him he was fine and that he wasn’t mad at him. That day, they videocalled each other for over an hour, Changbin explaining to his friend what was going on and how things were going on his side. Wooyoung encouraged him to talk to the others when he was ready and changed the subject to try and make Changbin laugh, which the older was more than thankful for. 

  
  
  


The fourth day, when Changbin came home and entered his room, he all but jumped and screamed in surprise when he saw Hyunjin and Seungmin sitting on his bed, obviously waiting for him. The rapper looked around the room, noticing that Felix wasn’t there. 

“He’s sleeping with Sungie.” Seungmin said blankly when he saw Changbin looking around for the other. “We want to talk.” 

“ _Please_ , hyung.” Hyunjin quickly added, watching the older nervously like he was expecting him to leave any second. 

Changbin swallowed thickly, knowing now was the time to talk with the two of them; he had avoided the situation long enough, now he needed to actually get his shits together. 

“Alright.” He said, taking a deep breath before taking a seat on Felix’s bed, the Australian’s facing his own. Hyunjin exhaled the breath he had been holding, muttering a soft ‘thank you’ as Seungmin nodded, himself taking a deep breath to steady himself. 

  
  


An awkward silence settled itself between the three while Hyunjin and Seungmin readied themselves for the conversation, both looking at the other to silently determine who would start speaking first. Finally, Hyunjin took a deep breath, Seungmin caressing the back of his hand with his thumb, and looked at Changbin, tears gathering in his eyes. 

“We are so, _so_ sorry for our reaction. We were so surprised that we didn't know how to react, but it only made things worse.” Hyunjin exhaled shakily, closing his eyes for a moment before starting again. “We would _never_ judge you for that. We care about you _so much_ , hyung, _I_ care about you so much.” Tears rolled down his eyes, making Changbin’s heart break at the sight. “W-We only want you to be happy and I-I am _so_ scared that you don’t trust us, that y-you won’t t-trust us anymore…” The dancer finally erupted in loud sobs, hands coming up to hide his face. 

  
  


“Oh, baby…” Changbin whispered, fighting his own tears back. “Come here.” He said, opening his arms wide for Hyunjin to come hug him, which the dancer gladly did; Hyunjin all but threw himself in Changbin’s awaiting arms, crying in the older’s arms as his body shook from the intensity of his sobs.

“I-I l-love you…” Hyunjin sobbed and Changbin couldn’t hold back from kissing his temple, rubbing his back comfortingly. 

“Me too, baby. I love you so, _so_ much.” The older said shakily, leaving multiple kisses on top of the dancer’s head. 

  
  


They held tightly onto each other for a while, Changbin gently rocking his boyfriend and whispering ‘I love you’ to him repeatedly. Once Hyunjin had calmed down, he leaned back a little bit, enough so he was looking directly into Changbin’s eyes, the older holding the eye contact. They whispered ‘I love you’s to each other once more, kissing softly and resting their forehead against the other’s once they parted. 

  
  


“We really are sorry, hyung. I’m sorry.” Seungmin said after a moment, Changbin pulling away from Hyunjin to look at the younger; the singer was sitting stiffly at the edge of the bed, breath coming out shakily as he watched the two others with reddened cheeks. 

“It’s alright, Minnie.” Changbin smiled, and the younger sighed before making his way to the other bed to sit next to Changbin, resting his head on the rapper’s shoulder. Changbin wrapped an arm around Seungmin’s shoulder, bringing him closer. “I never told you, I couldn’t expect you to understand right away.” Changbin exhaled, pausing shortly before continuing, voice getting out unevenly. “I shouldn’t have hid it from you. Hyung is sorry too, for causing so much trouble. I will try to do better, hyung will be a better hyung from now on.” 

“It’s fine, you’re already a great hyung.” Hyunjin was quick to reassure him, cupping the older’s cheeks to kiss him once more. “You had your reasons for not telling us and, when you’re ready, you tell us. Alright?” 

  
  


Changbin nodded, holding onto his boyfriend and Seungmin thightly. He did want to tell them, but he really wanted to try and speak with Jeongin first, seeing as it concerned him a bit more than the two others. 

  
  


As if he had been reading in Changbin’s mind, Seungmin speaked up. 

“We talked to Innie, too. We won’t speak for him, but you two definitely should talk.” Changbin opened his mouth to say the youngest wouldn’t even _look_ at him, so forget speaking to him, but Seungmin continued. “Wait for him to come to you. You know how he is; he needs time to cool off before he’s able to speak about his feelings.” 

  
  


Changbin sighed at Seungmin’s words, ultimately nodding his head; he knew the other was right and waiting for the youngest to be ready seemed the best option he had for things to eventually get better. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Now having talked with Seungmin and Hyunjin, Changbin went back to his usual schedule, coming home at normal hours and hanging around the dorm, no longer avoiding anyone; the conversation had given him hope that Jeongin would soon stop ignoring him and that they would talk, things finally going back to normal. 

  
  


But it didn’t happen. 

  
  


Everytime Changbin entered a room in which Jeongin was, the youngest would leave the room without even glancing his way. When Changbin was the one already in a room and Jeongin came in, he turned back without missing a beat. The youngest always found excuses when a few of them were supposed to hang out, be it eating together or walking together to or from the company, and he found out the rapper would be present. Going to the gym and finding out Changbin was already there? He suddenly forgot his water bottle or his earphones and left without a word. Going out to eat with Felix, Jisung and Chan and finding out Changbin was present too? He suddenly forgot he had homeworks to do. 

  
  


Of course, his behavior attracted the others’ attention, mainly Jisung, the boy having been one of the few that hadn’t been a witness of the situation beforehand. The young rapper kept asking questions, obviously curious (and worried, ball of anxiety that he was) as to why the maknae suddenly avoided Changbin like the plague. Everytime, Changbin brushed his questions off, redirecting Jisung’s attention to something else (Changbin would make sure to thank Minho and Chan properly, both working hard to distract Jisung when he began asking too many questions). 

  
  


A few days passed and still nothing from Jeongin. 

  
  


Changbin was slowly starting to lose his patience.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"Changbin, you're late again." Minho stated for the fifth time in the last half-hour, the rapper barely containing a curse from escaping his lips. 

  
  


Practice was awful. 

  
  


They hadn't had a group practice since that day and Changbin kept getting distracted by Jeongin. 

  
  


Not that the maknae was doing much; most of the time, he was blatantly ignoring Changbin (as always, since then), but sometimes, Jeongin glared at his back so intensely, Changbin could feel holes beginning to burn through his shirt. 

  
  


Since his conversation with Seungmin, Changbin kept hoping Jeongin would come up to him and finally talk to him, explaining what had been bothering him about the whole situation so they could finally go back to how things were before or, at least, a more pleasant atmosphere. 

  
  


But he never did. 

  
  


And Changbin was getting more and more fed up by the whole situation. 

  
  


He knew the maknae needed time to cool off before being able to talk about a subject that angered him and he knew, with their schedule, that it was hard to find time to have a serious conversation with someone, even more so when both schedules are opposites. 

  
  


But things were taking way too long in Changbin's opinion. 

  
  
  
  


"Changbin,-" Minho started yet again with a sigh, but the rapper interrupted him, more than done with everything. 

"I KNOW, I'M LATE AGAIN!" Changbin snapped way louder than necessary, making everyone stop to look at him, shocked by his outburst. (The rapper did feel bad when he saw Felix flinch away from him, but he was way past his breaking point.)

  
  


"If you know, then why do you keep doing it?" Jeongin said before Chan could intervene, Changbin turning in his direction to glare at him. 

"Oh, so now you stop ignoring me?" The rapper laughed humorlessly, walking in Jeongin's direction. Minho stepped in front of him, hands on his chest, stopping him from going too far. 

  
  


When Jeongin didn't answer, Changbin spat angrily; "Maybe you should mind your fucking business then."

"Maybe you should stop waisting our fucking time then." Jeongin replied just as pissed off, Felix and Seungmin immediately both by his sides with a hand on his shoulders to try and calm him. 

  
  


Before they could go on, a broken sob caught their attention, everyone in the room turning to look at Hyunjin. He was watching Jeongin and Changbin, a mix of hurt and anger on his features.

"Really?" The dancer's eyes quickly filled with tears as he watched between both his boyfriends. "I can't.. I-I'm sorry, I'll be right back…" Hyunjin hid his face in his hands, visibly crying as he quickly exited the room. A brief eye contact with Chan and a head tilt in the door's direction later, Felix was after him. 

  
  


The tension left in the room once the two dancers were gone was so thick, Changbin felt he could barely breath. No one dared say a word, no one even daring to move from their spot. 

  
  


The sight of his boyfriend erupting in cries didn't help the tight constriction in Changbin's chest, neither did the pissed off glare Chan threw in his and Jeongin's ways. 

"Jeongin. Changbin." The leader said through clenched teeth, both boys tensing at the mention of the names. Even the others tensed at the unusual tone of the leader, even if it wasn't directed at them. "With me. Now."

  
  


They both followed their leader outside of the practice room, like grounded puppies with their tails between their legs, neither of them daring to look at him directly; it wasn't often they saw him angry and they certainly didn't want to make it worse. Once the door closed behind them, the oldest only stood outside, arms crossed as he stared at the two boys, jaw clenched so hard they could see a vein pop in his neck. 

  
  


Once again, neither of them dared to speak, opting to stare at their feet as they waited for their leader to lecture them; better keep quiet than fuel their leader's anger. 

  
  


"I care about both of you and I know something's going on." Chan finally said, a moment later, a lot calmer than both boys were expecting. "But it's affecting the group and I can't have that."

"It's-" Changbin started, only for Chan to raise a hand, effectively interrupting him. 

"I don't care." Changbin clasped his mouth shut, biting his bottom lip and repressing a gasp as he did; the leader wasn't one to snap at the members, so it was one too many signs it was time for the situation to be corrected. "Both of you, go home and work on it." He said sternly, pointedly looking at them before turning and walking back in the practice room, leaving Changbin and Jeongin in an uneasy silence in the corridor. 

  
  


They both decided it was better if they walked home, since asking for one of their managers for a ride would raise questions none of them wanted to answer to. In addition, a walk would surely help them work the tensions in their bodies, leaving them in a better condition to finally talk things through (hopefully). 

  
  


The walk back to the dorm was more than tensed, neither of them uttering a word or looking in the other’s direction. Changbin thought it might be better this way, though; it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to snap at each other in public where anyone could film them or take their picture. 

  
  


Changbin repressed his hundredth sigh since the beginning of the whole situation as he continued walking in silence. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


As Changbin should have expected, once home, neither of them were in the mood to talk to one another after the whole situation in the practice room, but after Chan's scolding, they didn't want to disappoint their leader further more by ignoring each other. 

  
  


So, here there were, both stupidly standing in the living room, arms crossed and jaws clenched, glaring daggers at each other. 

  
  


"Why didn't you _tell us_?" After a long silence, Jeongin snapped first, the first words he'd uttered to Changbin since that day. 

"It's not-" Changbin started, voice already rising in anger towards the youngest, but Jeongin interrupted him. 

“Why did you lie when I asked if you ever wanted to try regressing younger? Why didn’t you tell me you used to regress younger than you did with us?” The youngest continued, voice raising more and more as he took one, two steps in Changbin’s direction. 

“I didn’t-...” Changbin tried explaining again, hands raised in a defensive posture and taking a step back, only to have Jeongin stopping him once more. 

“You decided to be a fucking _coward_ by _lying_ to us, to _me,_ about things you knew we wouldn’t have minded.”

Changbin inhaled sharply, containing himself as best as he could to not _punch_ Jeongin right here and there, the younger’s hurtful words only fueling his anger the more he talked.

“You don’t _understand_.” The older snarled, teeth clenched shut. “You can’t-...” 

"Why don't you _trust_ me?" Jeongin’s voice cracked, tears rapidly gathering in his eyes as he stared at the older pointedly. 

  
  
  


All traces of anger left Changbin when the words left Jeongin's mouth; because, for the first time, the older could see past the anger the youngest so clearly showed since that day. 

  
  


Hurt.

  
  


Jeongin wasn't angry that Changbin had regressed with someone outside of the group, nor was he angry that he had regressed in babyspace with someone else. 

  
  


He wasn’t angry that Changbin had lied to him, nor that he had never mentioned his babyspace.

  
  
  


He was hurt that Changbin didn't trust him enough to do so with him. 

  
  
  


Another long silence had settled between the two once Jeongin had spoken, both staring at each other without exactly knowing what to do next; never did they really fight a lot and Changbin was hit with the fact that he had no idea what to do to appease Jeongin. With Felix, Hyunjin and Jisung, he'd offer a hug and his ear, and it would be perfect. With Seungmin, he'd give the younger space to cool off before offering to listen to him, which was mostly similar to what he'd do with Minho and Chan, maybe paired with the fact that he’d proposed to go to the gym with them to work it out. . 

But with Jeongin? At this exact moment, Changbin realised he hit a wall. 

  
  


The maknae was still staring at Changbin, as if waiting for him to say something, _anything_. His features were scolded in something Changbin couldn't really decipher, which destabilised the older a lot; he didn’t know what was going on through Jeongin’s mind, nor what he was feeling at the moment. Was he more angry than hurt, meaning Changbin would risk getting punched if he tried to approach him? Or was he more hurt than angry, meaning the rapper could try to initiate skinship to soothe him? 

  
  


Deciding to take a guess, Changbin slowly stepped forward, watching the younger carefully and gauging his reaction as if he was a hurt wild animal. When Jeongin didn’t react badly, Changbin opened his arms, moving to take another step forward but stopping himself when Jeongin crossed the remaining distance and wrapped his arms around Changbin’s waist, hugging the other tightly while he sobbed against his shoulder. 

  
  


Changbin sure didn’t expect this to happen, but he wasn’t complaining. 

  
  


Closing his arms around the youngest’s shoulder, the rapper held him tightly, rubbing his back comfortingly like he had done with Hyunjin a few days prior. 

“There, it’s alright. Hyung is here. Everything’s going to be fine.” Changbin whispered to Jeongin, holding firmly onto him as the boy shook from his sobs. 

  
  


Even as he tried to remember as far as he could, Changbin couldn’t think of the last time he’d seen Jeongin cry this much; the youngest usually controlled his emotions pretty well, not letting them show too much around the others before dealing with them on his own. It wasn’t that he wasn’t comfortable around the members, nor that he wanted to appear cold; he just really hated being seen in his most vulnerable state. The sight of Jeongin sobbing so much broke something in Changbin, the older letting his own tears roll down his cheeks as he comforted the youngest. 

  
  
  


It took a few minutes before they both calmed down, their cries being reduced to occasional sniffles. Jeongin was the first to pull away from the embrace, wiping the tears drenching his cheeks with the back of his sleeve. Changbin imitated him, rubbing Jeongin’s arm with his free hand. 

The maknae took a deep, shaky breath before exhaling profoundly, his eyes, puffy and red with the amount of crying he just did, finally meeting up Changbin’s. 

“Can we talk?” The rapper asked in a hoarse voice to which, _thankfully_ , Jeongin nodded in answer. Changbin nodded back, gently taking the younger’s hand in his and leading him to the couch, both taking a seat facing each other. 

  
  


They both stayed in silence a few seconds so they could organise their thoughts, Changbin being the first to break the ice. 

“I didn’t want to lie to you. I _really_ was honest when I told you things were fine as they were.” Changbin paused, taking a deep breath before he kept going. “I used to regress _way_ younger than now with Wooyoung, I did, but it _really_ isn’t because I don’t trust you that I haven’t done it with you. I trust you, Innie, _so much;_ you’ve seen parts of me not many have seen.”

  
  


Jeongin frowned at the older’s words, but otherwise kept silent; he felt like Changbin needed to get things off his chest, like he had previously done (in the most _inappropriate_ way, but still), so he would listen to all he had to say until he was done. 

“Now that _this_ happened,” the rapper continued, an humorless laugh leaving his lips, “I see that I should have told you earlier, maybe straight from the start. It’s just… _so_ much, you know?”

  
  


Changbin let go of Jeongin’s hand, instead bringing his own to his laps and nervously playing with his fingers, biting his bottom lip while he looked away. The maknae watched him, unsure of what to do; he wanted to reach over and take his hand back in his, or maybe squeeze his thigh reassuringly, but he didn’t want to interrupt the older in his train of thoughts, so he refrained from doing so. 

  
  


"Even if I wanted to, like, you know..." Changbin said in a soft voice, clearing his throat as he looked down his hands currently on his laps, a light blush creeping on his cheeks, "be carried and picked up, it's not like any of you could." When Jeongin opened his mouth to protest, Changbin looked back at him and raised a hand to stop him before he continued. "I'm not saying that I'm fat or that I don't like the way I am; obviously I like it, since I work hard at the gym for it. But I'm still heavy." He blushed hard, looking back down at his hands. "Too heavy for you to carry around without hurting yourselves." 

  
  


"Hyung." Jeongin softly called the other, making the older raise his gaze once more after a moment. "I don't mind carrying Hyunjin and he's taller than me." 

"Yeah, but he basically weighs nothing." Changbin shrugged, to which Jeongin nodded. 

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean he's easier to pick up. But I still do, because I love him and I want him to feel safe and loved, so if he wants to be carried around everywhere, I'll do it." 

“Of course you’ll do it, you’re his boyfriend.” The rapper stated, making Jeongin frown; what did he mean? Sensing the youngest’s confusion, Changbin added; “If Hyunjin requires more care, it’s normal that you’ll provide him with it, since he’s your boyfriend.” 

  
  


Was Changbin jealous? _No, that can’t be it,_ Jeongin thought to himself. Little Changbin didn’t have less attention or care to him than Hyunjin even if he was slightly older, both littles having their main caregivers always providing them with it. Changbin was even the one mostly according attention to Hyunjin; he couldn’t help but act as a hyung even while little, his headspace being older than the younger and having a natural tendency to care about others. 

  
  


Jeongin didn’t have a _clue_ about what the older meant. 

  
  


Until he did. 

  
  


“Hyung, do you think you don’t deserve the ‘extra care’ because you’re not my boyfriend but Hyunjin is?” Jeongin asked as gently as possible and, when Changbin blushed a dark red, he knew he had figured it out. “That’s nonsense, hyung.” 

“No, it’s not!” Changbin exclaimed, feeling so, _so_ flustered about the whole thing. “It’s normal that you’ll do extra things with Hyunjin, since he’s your boyfriend. Your relationship is… more special? I’m not your boyfriend, why would you do the same with me?” 

“Because I’m your caregiver?” Jeongin deadpanned, eyebrow furrowed in confusion. “Hyunjin has Seungmin too, there is no reason why I couldn’t give you what you need.” His expression softened as he watched the older, seeing his shoulders shrink a little bit. “Besides, since when do you need to be in a romantic relationship with someone if you need to be their caregiver?” 

  
  


Changbin couldn’t deny that Jeongin was right about everything; Hyunjin had Seungmin to take care of him and he didn’t need (nor wanted) Jeongin as his boyfriend to have him take care of him while in headspace. A part of himself, though, still believed that he didn’t deserve it, that Hyunjin needed and deserved the attention more than himself, but the way the youngest looked so sure about what he had said helped quieten that thought. 

  
  
  


The maknae eyed Changbin for a moment, finally taking one of the older’s hands in his as he spoke softly.

"Do you want to try to regress to babyspace with me?" 

  
  


Changbin blushed heavily yet once again, avoiding looking into Jeongin's eyes. The way the youngest so simply put it, not seeming affected by the proposition _at all,_ like he was just asking Changbin if he wanted to order take-outs with him, really flustered him, but also reassured him; he wasn’t weird to want to do it and he was allowed to want that extra care Jeongin could provide him, the maknae _wanting_ to do so. 

  
  


After a moment of internal debate, Changbin ultimately nodded. 

  
  


"Great." Jeongin nodded, sitting back with a smile. "Then I'll do it. I'll finally have a reason to hit the gym." He shrugged with an amused smirk, making Changbin gasp. 

"Yah! I thought you already had one!" The older exclaimed, jumping on the younger to punch him playfully, making Jeongin laugh and try to push him away. 

  
  


They continued play-fighting for a while until they were both panting, out of breath with the intense laughing session they just had; with all the turning and moving around, they had ended up laying down on the couch, Changbin half-laying on top of Jeongin as he tried to prevent him from escaping his gentle punching that had more or less turned into tickling. The rapper carefully moved to lay on his side next to the other, wrapping his arm around Jeongin’s waist and tugging him to his chest. Jeongin would usually protest against the gesture, but uncharastically felt needy of some skinship with Changbin after the quite emotional situation that had happened in the last few days. Sighing happily, Jeongin rolled on his side too, slotting his back against Changbin’s chest and closing his eyes in contentment. 

  
  
  
  
  


When the other members came back home, they found the two boys on the couch, cuddling close as they napped peacefully. Relieved expressions could be seen on everyone’s faces, the leader grabbing a blanket that was resting on top of the couch and covering the two sleeping boys. 

  
  
  
  


They weren’t perfect, but Changbin knew he could rely on the other. 

FIN 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed <3 Kudos and comments are always appreciated :) 
> 
> Who ordered the most cliché ending of all time? :') 
> 
> Fun fact (for those who didn’t know): Changbin and Wooyoung (Ateez) ARE friends from highschool and Wooyoung even said he considers Changbin his best friend, though they weren’t best friends in high school. They got closer once they re-met at Music Bank a few years later. (source: https://www.vlive.tv/video/182353, Wooyoung starts talking about it at 28:37) 
> 
> Fun fact #2 (really impertinent but oh well): when the trio is in the car in the beginning, I used miles as a measure but, from where I’m from, we actually use kilometres. It just sounded better in my opinion. (nobodyaskedandnobodycaresthankyouverymuch)
> 
> Also, can we cry about how streetlight is a masterpiece? thank you.


End file.
